Mindspider (Ship)
Description A new ship which has only appeared within the past 50 or 60 years, the Mindspider has been quickly gaining the same dangerous reputation as the more common neogi Deathspiders, and as a result they are usualy attacked on sight by those capable of doing so. The Mindspider is lighter, faster, more maneuverable, and better armoured than the Deathspider, but since it is so much smaller it carries far less weaponry and marines. The Mindspider is used in situations where subtlety, or what passes for subtlety amongst the neogi, is needed. Crew A Mindspider will typically carry 1-3 neogi, each with a personal umber hulk slave. The remainder of the crew (typically enough to give the Mindspider a full crew of 10) will be made up of lesser slaves placed under Charm spells, or other enchantments to make them loyal to their neogi masters. Typical of neogi organization, all crewmembers are considered property of the ship's captain. Ship Uses Command Vehicle: Most Mindspiders are used as command ships. This is done in situations where one neogi captain owns more than one Deathspider ship. In these cases the Mindspider will serve as the personal lair of this wealthy neogi. Races unfamiliar with this practice would usually assume that the fleet is led by one of the larger vessels, but in fact the relationship between the Mindspider and the Deathspider is seen by the neogi as being similar to the relationship between the small neogi and their large umber hulk protector/slaves. When a Mindspider is serving as a command ship, the Deathspiders in its fleet will perform any fighting, while the Mindpsider remains at a safe distance. Support Vessel: While the Mindspider was at first a very rare craft, in the past 10-15 years they have become much more common (although still not as common as Deathspiders). This has resulted in some very wealthy neogi fleet owners who have come to possess more than one Mindspider. In such a case any Mindspiders other than the personal ship of the Fleet owner (which will be used as a command vehicle) will be used as support vessels for the fleet's Deathspiders, much in the way that lesser neogi are often used in combat in support of their more powerful umber hulk slaves. These Mindspiders are intended to harrass the enemy while the Deathspiders do the real fighting. Nevertheless, this is a somewhat risky assignment for the neogi slave-captains of these Mindspiders, since a Mindspider closing into combat is more vulnerable than a Deathspider doing the same. As a result, fleet owners tend to put their most ambitious (and therefore dangerous) slave-lieutenants in command of any Mindspiders acting in a support role. Piracy: A few elder neogi will break away from their kin in an attempt to avoid transformation into an old master at their fangs. These neogi, along with a few loyal umber hulk slaves and whatever other slaves they were able to retain, will typically flee from their fellows in a Mindspider. Such a craft becomes very dangerous, since the renegade neogi captain will usually be a total berserker, attacking any ship encountered in order to avoid leaving behind any witnesses who could potentially tell other neogi the location of the captain. These Mindspiders are often modified according to the whims of the increasingly erratic neogi captain. Other Configurations Broodship Lander: The neogi are noted for their absence from large planetary bodies. Recently, however, there seems to be a neogi movement to settle larger worlds than their typical asteroid settlements. For these purposes, a Mindspider may be stripped of its helm, weaponry and crew, and let loose from a Deathspider in orbit. Such a Broodship will have its cargo hold loaded with an old master. The ship will then fall to the ground, crashing in the process. At this stage the old master will release the infant neogi, who will domesticate local slaves, and create a new neogi base which can then be used by their spacefaring fellows. The best part of this, from the neogi point of view, is that their own lives, and those of their precious umber hulk slaves, are never put at risk. This is the theory, at least. So far these experiments have failed, but sages are disturbed by this new trend, and believe that it is only a matter of time before the neogi succeed.